Brassiere construction



Dec. 30, 1952 w. D. BROWN BRA'SSIERE CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 50, 1949 m m w.

LIAM D. BQOWN, BY

QTTOQNEY.

Patented Dec. 30, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

2 Claims.

The present invention pertains to improvements in brassiere construction and is particulanlydirectedto a construction which imparts greater-comforttothe wearer and does not chafe or cut into the areas adjacent the breast which often enlarge duetqphysiological changes or by reason of bodily motion.

Although brassieres are an article of attire used extensively for many years, no solution has been found heretofore to the problem of cutting and chafing of the skin of the wearer in the regions immediatelyadjacent the outer portion of each breasttoward the underarm portions of the body.- Manywomen have been marked in a semi-permanent manner by the cutting action of the upper margin of the brassire against the skin in these outward portions of" their anatomy. In an ordinary brassire the circumferential tension of the bandextending beneath the breast cups and continuing across the back to the usual rear closure is transmitted along the upper margin of such band to the shoulder straps connected above the breast-receiving pockets. As a result, the upper margin of the brassiere is relatively taut. Various glandsaretraversed by this margin, among them lymph glands and a portion of the mammary glands. Furthermore, the pectoral muscle extends downwardly in this area, this muscle having the ability to enlarge very materially in response to an upward movement of the arms. When these-muscles enlarge, the upper margin of the brassire cuts into the skin overlying the muscles. During the menstrual period and by reason of other physiological conditions, the glandular structure of the breast enlarges, and again the upper margin of the brassire cuts into the skin of thewearer inthe above-described areas. Fur-v thermore, in many women, fatty tissue accumulates in the areas immediately adjacent and to theside of each breast and makes the wearing of an ordinary brassire very uncomfortable.

The present invention is directed to a brassiere construction which includes means capable of accommodating the. enlargement of the glands as well as muscular enlargement and prevents the wearer-from being chafed, cut; indented, or otherwise rendered uncomfortable by the brassire. Generally stated, the invention pertains to the use of an insert in the upper-margin of the brassiere between each shoulder strap and underarm portion, said insert being above a horizontal plane extending through the apexes of the breastreceiving cups, said insert being of resilient material stretchablein a downwardly and outwardly inclined direction and connected to the upper section of the underarm portion of a brassiere, whereby tension in the underarm portion is yieldingly transmitted along the upper margin of the brassire, By the inclusion of such insert, the tension, necessary to maintain thev brassiere. in

position upon the; body is transmitted in a normal manner along thezone beneath the breast-receiving. pockets, while the insert yields in a zone above the apexes of the pocketsto the glandular and muscular expansionhereinabove mentioned.

t is anobject of the invention, therefore, to disclose andprovide an improved brassire construction.

Another object of the invention is to disclose andprovide a construction of a brassire or sim;- ilar undergarm-ent whereby such undergarmentis, prevented from chafing or cutting into the skin of the wearer by reason of glandular or other en,-,

largement of the tissues underlying the upper marginal edgeof abrassire.

These and various, other objects will become apparent to those skilled in theart from the following description. Although the invention, is not limited to brassieres as separate articles, but, is actually applicable to any garment including bmast-receivingpockets (such asfoundation garments, swim suits, etc.) the description will, for exemplary purposes, specifically refer to. brassieres. In order to facilitate understanding, ref,-. eren-ce will be had to the appended drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a three-quarter front View of a com.- plete brassiere embodying the present, invention, in position upon the body of awearer.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of one half of a brassiere. in extended form, said brassiere illustrating, one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is an. extended plan view of one half of another brassiere, embodying a modified form of the, invention.

Fig. 4 is an extended plan view of one half of a brassiere illustrating a still further modification of theinvention.

The brassiere, illustrated, includes the breastreceiving cups [0 and II connected bya sternum piece [2, the outer portions of the cups being connected to underarm portions, such as I3, such underarm portions terminating in the rear in suitable closure means of any usual type. Shoulder straps l4 and I5 extend over the shoulders, the front portion of each shoulder strap, being connected to the upper margin of the cup abovev armportion on the other side of the brassire. A

constricting tension isv exerted around thebody of the wearer by the bra sire adjacent such lower margin and beneath the breast-receiving cups. In many instances, the rear closure means are carried bv a strip of elastic so as to impart some minor yield and permit the body to bend without undue rest aint. In the form of bra sire illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the element I8 is made of elastic. stretchable mat rial in order to accommodate a fullness of the diaphragm.

The upper margin of the brassire includes the upper marginal edge 20 of the breast-receiving cup and the upper marginal edge 2| of the underarm portion I3. This is the marginal edge which, in normal brassieres, cuts into the skin of the wearer by reason of glandular engorgement and muscular enlargement. The discomfort resulting from such cutting and chafing is eliminated by the construction illustrated in the following manner. An insert 22 of resilient. elastic, stretchable material is incorporated into the brassire and forms a part of the upper marginal edge thereof. In Figs. 1 and 2, such insert 22 is shown as being a part of the cup I I] and extends from the upper marginal edge of the cup on the outer side thereof in a downward and outward direction between the point of connection between the shoulder strap I4 and the underarm portion I3. It will be noted that the upper sect on of the upwardly extending marginal edge 23 of the underarm portion I3 is connected to the elastic insert 22, while the lower section of the upwardly extending frontal margin 23 is connected directly to the pliant, but non-stretchable, por tion of the cup. The cup II] in the form illustrated is therefore composed of the elastic insert 22, a substantially semicircular member 24, reenforced with stitching, and J-shaped member 25 which forms the inner central portions of the cup. It is to be understood that these various portions 22, 24 and 25 are made so as to impart a cup shape to the breast-receiving pocket, the apex being located at about 26. The J-shaped member 25, when in fiat or extended form, includes margins which are at an acute angle to each other; these margins are connected as at 21 to impart a cup shape to the member around the apex 26.

When in use, enlargement of the lymph glands or musculature extending toward the shoulders of the wearer and to the side of the breast is yieldingly accommodated by the elastic insert 22. Circumferential tension applied to the brassire by the underarm portions I3 is transmitted to the elastic insert 22 and since such insert is stretchable in a direction parallel to the upper edge of the brassire (in a downward and outwardly inclined direction from the shoulder strap I4) no abrasion or indentation of the skin of the wearer can take place.

Fig. 3 illustrates a modified form of invention wherein the entire breast-receiving pocket is composed of an inner portion 35, an outer portion 34 and band-like member 36 which traverses the entire pocket and may continue upwardly in the form of a shoulder strap. The underarm portion I3 is provided with the upwardly directed front edge 33, the lower section thereof being directly connected to the section 34 of the pocket, whereas the upper section of such margin 33 is connected to an insert 32 extending between the shoulder strap member 36 and the underarm portion I3. It has been found desirable to make such insert slightly wider adjacent the underarm portion I3 than adjacent the shoulder strap. The insert 32 is stretchable in a downwardly and outwardly inclined direction and forms an integral part of the upper margin of the brassiere.

It will be noted that the elastic inserts 22 and 32 are positioned above a horizontal plane extending through the apexes of the breast-receiving pockets.

A still further modification of the invention is illustrated in Fig. 4, wherein a three-piece pocket is connected to the underarm portion I3, the upper marginal edge 2I of such underarm portion being interrupted to accommodate an elastic insert 42 extending between the main body of the underarm portion and the outer edge of the breast-receiving cup. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that such elastic inserts as 22, 32 and 42 may be combined, if desired, and their extent and. particular configuration can be varied, depending upon the general weight classification of the wearers by whom the brassieres are to be worn.

All changes and modifications coming within the scope of the appended claims are embraced thereby.

I claim:

1. In a brassiere construction including underarm portions connected to breast-receiving cups, the combination of: a pair of breast-receiving cups, each of said cups being composed of a J- shaped piece of material forming a conical element constituting the inner and central portion of the cup, including an apex and an area com pletely around the apex; a virtually semi-circu lar member connected to said J -shaped piece and forming the lower side of the cup and the outer side thereof but terminating short of the upper margin of the breast receiving cup; an underarm portion connected to the outer margin of said semi-circular member and extending upwardly therebeyond; a shoulder strap attached to the J-shaped piece of material; and a strip of elastic resilient material connected to the J-shaped piece, the upper margin of the semi-circular member and the underarm portion.

2. In a brassiere construction including underarm portions connected to breast-receiving cups, the combination of: a pair of breast-receiving cups, each of said cups being composed of a J- shaped piece of material, which in extending form includes margins at an acute angle to each other, said margins being stitched together and said J-shaped piece forming a conical element constituting the inner and central portion of the cup, including an apex and an area completely around the apex; a virtually semi-circular member connected to said J-shaped piece and forming the lower side of the cup and the outer side thereof but terminating short of the upper margin of the breast-receiving cup; an underarm portion connected to the outer margin of said semi-circular member and extending upwardly therebeyond; a shoulder strap attached to the J shaped piece of material; and a strip of elastic resilient material connected to the J-shaped piece, the'upper margin of the semi-circular member and the underarm portion.

WILLIAM D. BROWN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,979,120 Robbins Oct. 30, 1934 2,296,165 Kahn Sept. 15, 1942 2,506,172 Plehn May 2, 1950 

